toxicity tests

Tests carried out on new drugs, cosmetics, food additives, pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals to see whether they are safe for humans to use. They aim to identify potential toxins, carcinogens, teratogens, and mutagens.

Traditionally such tests use live animals such as rats, rabbits, and mice. Animal tests have become a target for criticism by antivivisection groups, and alternatives have been sought. These include tests on human cells cultured in a test tube and on bacteria.

In Europe in 1990, 4,365 animals were used for testing cosmetic products, out of a total of 276,674 animals used to test products other than pharmaceuticals. Including pharmaceuticals, a total of around 3.2 million animals were used in experimentation. The US Office of Technology Assessment estimates that around 1.6 million animals are used annually in government research laboratories, of which 90% are rats or mice.

In October 1999 the UK government announced that it would not issue licences for animal testing until it was satisfied that alternative tests were unsatisfactory to test toxins. The licence, known as LD50, involves determining the chemical dose of a toxin that will kill half of the laboratory animals tested. Despite widespread belief among industrialized nations that the test is unnecessary and cruel, the test remains standard in the USA and Japan.